As some of you already know, I'm barely getting my feet wet in this hobby and my goal is not to raise show quality koi at the moment due to the size of my tiny pond. What I'm doing is learn through trial and error without breaking the bank since my 2nd kid just arrived last week which means $$$ is needed for diapers and milk . Hopefully I'll be able to gain enough knowledge over time in order to prep myself to pick a good quality koi when I'm able to get a bigger pond. Please share your honest critiques regarding these 2 kois. Give me the good, the bad, the ugly. Hammer me hard, I'm ready...So here goes:
1) When I got the kohaku back in early April this year, it was ~17cm and it's measured ~20cm today. What worries me about this one is the hint of sumi developing on its forehead.
2) I'm aware that the sanke is rather thin but I'm gonna try to bulk it up with high protein food and frequent water changes this growing season. I'd love for it to have a bit more beni on the right side but that may not happen. It does have some sumi developing on the right side though (I think). Also, are those shiny specs near the dorsal fin considered pearl scale??